Saving, loading and storage

Save a career

1. Return to the main menu, or use the save action in the career hub.
2. Choose Save game.
3. Check the current folder and enter a recognisable filename. For example, use the club name and the point in the season.
4. Choose Save. If an existing file is selected, read the overwrite confirmation.
5. Wait for saving to finish. If an error appears, treat the save as unsuccessful until you have saved again successfully.

Use separate names for important milestones, such as the beginning of a season or before taking another job. Overwriting the same file is convenient, but it does not keep a long-term history of earlier choices.

A save contains the current football world, calendar, people, squads and career progress. Installing a different team database does not change that saved world. Some preferences are shared between games, while values such as a career's current camera view can belong to the save.

Load a game

1. Choose Load game from the main menu.
2. Navigate to the folder containing the file. Use Parent to move up a level, or the offered save-location shortcuts.
3. Select the career and choose Load.
4. Read any compatibility, repair or career-rule question before continuing. Cancelling a review leaves the previously active game available.

An older career may ask you to choose the modern manager-career rules. Read the dismissal and career-opportunity choices as you would when starting a new career. Save the loaded game afterwards if you want to keep that choice.

If a file does not appear, check both the folder and the file type. A replay and a video are not career saves. For a quick tournament, open the QuickTournaments subfolder. Loading its file restores the tournament hub.

Keep an untouched copy before trying a much older save in a newer release. Avoid saving that updated career again with an older executable, since the older game may not preserve newer career information.

Where your files are stored

Use the actual location displayed under Options → Storage folder. The defaults below help you recognise it, but a personal choice, redirected Documents folder or launch setting can change the effective path.

Current Windows saves normally lie directly inside the Championship Soccer Documents folder. Do not assume there must be another folder named Saves there. Older installation saves are not moved or erased merely because the current default is elsewhere.

A Windows game launched through Proton has a Windows-style user area within that launch environment. It does not necessarily use the same location as a native Linux build. A different Steam shortcut or compatibility environment can lead to a different Documents folder.

Choose another storage folder

1. Open Options and scroll to Storage folder.
2. Choose Select folder. You can also reach folder selection from the save screen or an appropriate storage-error message.
3. Browse or enter the destination. Review the full path.
4. Confirm Use folder when asked.

New saves, autosaves, replays and game-generated screenshots use the accepted location. Existing files stay where they are. Use Previous folders to find earlier locations, or copy the files yourself after closing the game.

Standard folder restores the platform's usual choice. Local folder offers a writable folder in your personal game-settings area. It is a different choice from the older installation's Local saves shortcut.

Changing saved-content storage does not relocate your installed game, personal DataSets packages or Teamsounds music collection. If a launch parameter controls storage, change that launch setting to choose a different standard location.

If the destination cannot be used, the game keeps the previous choice and reports the problem. Hover or focus the location text to read a long path.

Compressed saves and autosaves

Career saves use .ssv or .ssc. The Save compressed option chooses compression for saving. Both formats retain the career, and the normal load screen supports both. Compression can substantially reduce disk use, but it may add saving time, particularly in a large world with many years of history.

Autosaves protect progress at the game's save points, including the match flow. They can be replaced as the career advances. They are useful recovery points, not a substitute for your own named backups.

If you see Autosave failed, your current progress has not been protected by that automatic save. Save manually to a working folder before quitting. Do not assume that returning to a menu means the failed write has succeeded.

The game may report a safe alternative outcome, such as successfully writing an uncompressed file after a compression problem. Read the reported filename and location. Keep the successful file rather than guessing its name from the option you selected.

Back up or move a career

1. Finish saving and close the game.
2. Open the effective storage folder shown in Options.
3. Copy the save files you want to keep to a separate backup location. Include QuickTournaments for tournament progress and Replays for recorded moments you value.
4. If you use custom worlds, music or graphics, back up those personal folders as well. They may be outside your chosen save folder.
5. On the other computer, install the correct edition, place the files in an accessible folder and use Load game to open the career.

A temporary or short-term backup made during a save is not an archive of every earlier version. Keep dated copies of important saves yourself. Cloud synchronisation is useful only when it includes the folder actually used by the game. Allow uploads and downloads to finish before opening the same career on another computer.

When saving or loading fails

Read the folder and explanation in the message. Common causes are a disconnected drive, a full disk, a read-only folder, another program holding the file, or security software blocking access. Choose another storage folder or correct the reported problem, then try saving again.

On Windows, a redirected Documents folder may be on OneDrive or another drive. Check that it is available. If Windows Security reports that controlled folder access blocked the game you trust, its app-allowing option can permit that executable to write protected folders. Choosing a different writable folder is another solution.

If loading reports damaged optional information, review the recovery choices and retain the original file. Memory exhaustion and a missing file are different from corruption. Do not rename or remove a good save just because a load could not complete.

For support, include the game version, the operation that failed, the displayed error or reference, and the relevant diagnostics named by the dialog, such as SaveDiagnostics.log or StorageDiagnostics.log. Share a copy of the affected save when requested through the support channel. Never include your product key or password.